Rod Liddle Rod Liddle

My plan for Belarus

Getty Images

A terrible thing, to be torn. Last Sunday was International Day to End Obstetric Fistula, a very painful condition affecting the nether regions of women who have just given birth. I very much wished to observe the occasion in some way, but Sunday was also World Turtle Day, which naturally commended itself to me as well. Having thought about it, my hope was that those suffering from obstetric fistulae and the turtles might put aside whatever differences they may have and waddle together in a show of unity and I could commend them both at the same time.

Better still, however, would have been if last Sunday had been designated International Day to Bomb Minsk. I sometimes feel that the people who choose what stuff to campaign about tend to miss the bigger picture. Turtles etc are all very worthy but liberals (for it is always liberals who decide these things) need to focus a little bit, get themselves better acquainted with reality. Worried though I am about obstetric fistulae and all forms of marine reptile, I am more worried right now about our own sclerosis and lack of will when it comes to threats from rogue states which we might, if we were tempted, call fascist. In general, when faced with these threats we do nothing. We have become, I think, too comfortable to do anything but appease and appease. The only country which the liberal West gets worked up about is Israel — itself a liberal democracy that has been attempting to defend itself against the genocidal terrorists of Hamas.

A MiG fighter from Belarus intercepted a civilian Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius and threatened to shoot it down unless it diverted to Minsk airport. The MiG pilot informed the Ryanair pilot that he had been given permission to open fire, i.e.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in